Teaching Hitting Approach By Age

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[@AntonelliBaseball]

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[@airmaillocks]

Amazing stuff. Wish I had found you 10 years ago. You have a gift for teaching.

[@michaelriddles6726]

My son just moved up to 8u and were still on machine pitch. He was soooo scared 3 weeks ago. Today second pitch he drove up the middle decent. I tell them " if you think you can get it, get it" there's no shame in going down swinging so far its working.

[@briancollins6902]

Your videos are so good, so glad you put this content out there

[@tombonen2152]

Great advice. You are absolutely right about this approach. My grandson plays for one of the top travel programs in Chicago and he took this message from his Papa -- to heart. He refuses to be walked in the U9 competition. He had 102 ABs in 42 games with only 8 walks -- and only 7 strikeouts. Be aggressive.

[@douglasdavis4413]

100%. I think you said it best in that we are training hitters not takers. Awesome stuff, you certainly have the gift of teaching!

[@jimmac144]

This helps confirm what I’ve encouraged my son. He is undersized. In Little league many kids have a hard time with strike zones let alone his small strike zone. He hasn’t hit well in terms of results because he hasn’t had much to hit. He expands the zone and will put most everything in play but typically ends in an out. I’ve considered more of a take approach but I’m not changing a thing. He also plays travel and has more success as the aggressive approach has been favorable. More pitches to hit…

[@kerryherring563]

Holy crap! Aggressive/Passive. Right on the money. This is exactly what my kids need to hear.

[@billybot01]

Love the advice Matt! I also teach my players to be aggressive and if you can reach it I want you hitting it. I’ve had a lot of parents come to me complaining I’m teaching their kids bad habits but my response is when we need a hit @ 11U and under I can be sure our kids will not take a strike 3 looking. My son is a good example of that… very high batting average because I’ve taught him to hit balls in all areas of zone and some out of zone. I tell him you want to be like Babe Ruth without the strikeouts. Lol! Pitchers should fear that if they put it anywhere close and you can reach it, you will make them regret it… this also comes with a lot of work off tee ensuring mechanics are right but his first dinger at 11u came from a pitch shoulder high while many others taking strike 3 off bad calls. I teach him you can not leave close calls to umpire as much as we love them. Line drives leave no chance for bad calls. 😜 Thanks for all the insight and tips.

[@MrUtcorey]

Love this message Matt, It’s so easy for young players to go up there looking for walks. I try and teach my guys to be aggressive and put the ball in play unless it’s somewhere your bat can’t get to.

[@danmanfre5209]

Matt enjoy your videos, very educational. My 2 cents on this is to teach them to be more selective on strike one. After that they have to be ready to swing at just about anything they can reasonably reach (except over head) b/c umpires at that age typically have a larger strike zone to keep the games moving. They will be less likely to develop bad habits and this makes the transition to a more sophisticated approach later on as they get older a bit easier. Once their attention span is sufficient encourage them to watch the umpires zone size and tendencies as the game progresses. Kids love to complain about strike zones. They need to learn to be ready! Great advice Matt.

[@vballbobsbricks7074]

That's how I taught my 11 yr old. daughter to take at bats in softball the last couple years. Be aggressive and dont take the walk strive for that hard line drive. And she has really turned into a great hitter this season and 2nd half of last season. She was being told by coaches to take take take. So I started to notice when I got a chance to watch her play( I miss a lot of her games because of her older brothers baseball games) that she would be late or not ready. Once she started to listen to me and be more aggressive she has now developed into a very good hitter. And she is having more fun being in control more.

[@GoldFoilDecendent]

Great stuff Coach. Appreciate and agree with your perspective

[@SanctuaryGardenLiving]

Being a dad is making your videos even better!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!!!

[@Michael-is1qb]

Great stuff! You’ve got the bat to hit just like the pitcher has the ball to throw. Use it and see what happens.

[@4LeafCards]

Loved this one Matt thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@corywolfe936]

Perfect. A hit is more fun than a walk. Start out a slugger and settle into into your capability as late as possible. Every 5-15 year old should consider themselves a power bat. Settle for the power/skill set your capable of when your close to finished growing. The ones who settle (for walks/any way on base) will be the first to lose their spot a roster. Production on offense will get you in a lineup in high school even if your not a stellar defender.

[@cozygamingandvideos3914]

Off topic...I'm a little league coach and an RN. I'm watching Matt's left arm and want to stick a 10 guage IV in that antibrachial vein. Biggest I've ever seen...hands down.

[@GrwnASman]

I was never taught to be aggressive and it hurt me later in high school. I was too passive at the plate, struck out a lot in negative counts.

[@spickertbaseball1586]

My 9 year old goes outside of the zone to get hits a lot. Should I encourage that? He'll tomahawk pitches but yet still be successful.

[@jason8079]

Yo man, your video on stride it got me looking at my own stride and load and I saw that the biggest difference between myself and higher level hitters is that after my front foot lands I sort of sink into my front leg and bend that knee a little bit before I start to really get going. As a result of that, my head is moving a lot more in the y axis/vertically and I feel that’s affecting how I see pitches. Do you think I should try to stop doing it?

[@bekahbeeb]

So you're saying if they can reach it, and want to swing at it, let them? Even at the over the head slightly pitches? (For 6-8 years old) better to want to swing then to pay attention to the strike zone? What if it's throwing they're good batting stance off?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

No I wouldn’t say swing at everything. But anything over the plate at that age should be able to be hit hard. As you get older you then have to be a bit more selective.

[@corey13]

Do you think your 7 year old benefitted from that quality of ball? I’m keeping mine down for another year of coach pitch… worried I’m wrong.

[@DAatDA]

That other 13u coach was not doing his players any favors for their future development.

[@dann7528]

Maybe it's wrong but I tell my 9 yo dont try to throw as fast as you can just try to throw strikes most kids cant hit it

[@DAatDA]

At 9, throwing strikes is 100% the priority.

[@nynole1]

I tell my almost 6yp playing 7u baseball that he only needs to do two things: concentrate on his target and throw the ball hard. Whatever happens after that happens. Interesting to hear the different approaches people have.

[@bryanrmcnair01]

Yes yes yes NO approach...swinging unless minds stops is...not waiting for ya mind to start it...everything is somewhat checkswing! Now he freshman already working out NOW with Varsity and only "mind" change is told him first pitch have the "spot" smaller to keep swing going and if see dot hold the hands back but STAY EYES TO BALL cause chances are ya see it again when ya dont have ya "small box" already picked out and have protect!

[@scsmith4604]

Developing the players in the 8-13 age group is more important than winning the games. High School Coaches, College Coaches and Recruiters, and Pro Scouts will not look at a player's past team records. They will not ask: What was his OBP in 9U.

[@SanctuaryGardenLiving]

Same concept with pitchers... Some coaches telling kids to try not to throw hard. I believe young kids should try to hit and throw hard.